Chapter 70

The old cripple narrowed his eyes and waited for the answer. There was more or less expectation in his eyes. He is more and more interested in this seemingly wasteful young man, because if he looks for it carefully, he can always find a lot of things that people like.

Fang Xie is an interesting person. When he should understand, he knows better than anyone else. When he should be confused, he will not deliberately pretend to be an idiot to show weakness. Maybe he disdains it, or maybe he doesn't even pretend to be an idiot. Or maybe he doesn't feel qualified.

Maybe some people like to dress up as pigs and eat tigers, but the boy deeply understands that he is not a pig, so he can't eat a tiger. In this world, pretending to be a pig and eating a tiger is a game that can be played by people who are so fierce that there are almost no taboos. It can't be regarded as a strong person. It's not the cost of pretending to be a pig and eating a tiger.

Fang Xie pinched a piece of cooked meat and put it into his mouth. He pondered for a while, sorting out his words in his heart.

"If we analyze it according to common sense, it's not difficult to guess."

He washed the meat in his mouth with a mouthful of Northwest roast, aftertaste the hot northwest roast.

"That man was the only one of the seven sons who had been standing beside the emperor. Maybe he was also the only prince who never coveted the chair. This is what the people of the Sui Dynasty all know. If you ask an old man on the roadside, he can tell the past clearly."

"When your Majesty was the fourth prince, he was not favored by the former Emperor. At that time, the third prince was the most promising to receive the jade seal. Yang Ji, the third prince, was good at making friends and sophistry. Not to mention that there were many heroes willing to die for him in the imperial court, even in the Jianghu. He was generous in righteousness and wealth, and never stingy in helping others with his own privileges. So in the imperial court, he was among the people Yang Ji's reputation has always been good and high. "

"Another hot prince who can compete with Yang Ji for the throne is the eldest son Yang Xiong. He is the eldest son of the empress of the Imperial Palace, and the empress liked him very much at that time. With the support of the later family, his subordinates naturally need the assistance of ministers. The latter family has great prestige in the army, so the eldest son Yang Xiong is more confident of inheriting the throne than Yang Ji with broad contacts."

"But Yang Xiong was so arrogant that he didn't know how to restrain himself with the support of the empress. Later, the emperor gradually became more and more disgusted with the eldest son who secretly bullied men and women. It was the Queen's hard support that didn't let Yang Xiong fall down completely."

"Because the emperor hated Yang Xiong, the third prince Yang Jiyue appeared outstanding."

Fang Xie took a sip of wine, smiled and said: "This story is known by the people of Fangu in the border city. However, no one can tell how many of them are true and how many are false. But it is undeniable that the emperor of the great Sui Dynasty never hid the election of the crown prince. He prefers his children to fight with their true skills. Therefore, there are many stories. Unlike the previous dynasty, everything is hidden From the ground. "

The old cripple smiled and said: "Most of these things are true, just as you said just now. The biggest difference between the royal families of the great Sui Dynasty and those of the previous dynasties is that they do not boast of benevolence, righteousness and morality, but do dark and cold things behind their backs. The successive emperors of the great Sui Dynasty choose the crown prince in a dignified manner. The emperor even encouraged the princes to fight, but only on the face of truth 。”

Fang Xie nodded and said, "there is no doubt that no one was optimistic that the emperor could sit in that chair at that time. The former Emperor was seriously ill and had not selected who the crown prince was before his death. Yang Xiong, the great prince who was leading the troops to guard the border between Eastern Xinjiang and Eastern Chu, learned that the former Emperor was critically ill and rushed back from eastern Xinjiang with five thousand soldiers at the same time."

"At that time, the three princes were already in a good position to win. Even the most favored old ministers in front of the former Emperor's bed stood on his side. When they learned that the Grand Prince had returned, his majesty, who was also standing on his side at that time, led people to intercept him. His majesty rushed into the Tai Chi Hall of the Forbidden Palace and took the tiger talisman. Zuo Wuwei, the elite of the Sixth Army of the emperor, went out of the city to intercept the Grand Prince. On the way, he was chased by Yang Qi, the seventh prince In fact, no one knows what Yang Qi said to his majesty at that time, but his majesty may have made up his mind at that time. "

"Your Majesty intercepted the eldest prince with the elite soldiers of zuowuwei on the way and detained the eldest prince on the grounds of leading troops back to Beijing without authorization in defiance of the emperor's order. Then he immediately led the troops back to the imperial capital. The third prince ordered all the gates of the imperial capital to be closed. The seventh prince, with 260 slaves, guarded a gate until his majesty led the troops back. In that war, only 19 of the 260 slaves survived. The seventh prince was seriously injured in 13 places, three of which were transparent. "

"Your Majesty led the troops straight into the Tai Chi hall and trapped all the ministers. Old Nayan Suwei asked in front of the former Emperor's bed who would inherit the throne. At that time, your majesty happened to bring armor into the door. The former Emperor looked at the third prince, then looked at your majesty, and then stretched out his hand to your majesty."

"Although those old ministers were more willing to let the third prince succeed to the throne, the last order of the former Emperor could not be violated. So his majesty ascended the throne. The third prince was demoted as a common man and sent to Ningan tower to guard the border. The eldest prince was demoted as violating his orders. He was permanently stationed in Xinshui city in southern Xinjiang and was not allowed to leave the city. Luo Yao has been guarding in southern Xinjiang and may not have been without the mission of monitoring the eldest prince."

"The seventh Prince Yang Qi... Is the owner of the tea move, isn't he?"

After saying this, Fang Xie glanced at the old cripple.

The old lame man sighed and said, "these things can't be said by any old man on the side of the road... Fang Xie, how do you know?"

……

……

All Fang Xie knew was mentioned to him by Li Xiaozong. In the border town of fan Gu, Fang Xie was the only one who could sit down with Li Xiaozong and drink and chat freely. Although Li Xiaozong is only a child of Li Jiashu, it is not too difficult to know these secrets. At that time, the seven sons were so noisy that which aristocratic family could stay out of it?

In fact, to put it bluntly, the prince won the line and fought for the strength behind him.

The reason why Li Xiaozong knew so much was that Li Luan, the great general of Zuo Yiwei, was one of the few people standing next to the fourth Prince Yang Yi.

If not, it would be extremely difficult for Li Luan to bring the Li family into the ranks of a first-class aristocratic family with his military achievements.

Your majesty has always been a man of gratitude and revenge.

When Li Xiaozong explained this to Fang, he didn't expect to become a dead enemy with Fang Xie one day. At that time, he was still bent on cultivating fangxie city into his confidant. Li Xiaozong is a man with great ambition. Although Fang Xie is young, he definitely has the ability to move his heart.

So this is not a secret news. He can show that he trusts the other party.

Fang Xie explained to the old cripple once, then smiled and said, "it is indisputable that Yang Qi, the seventh prince, was the greatest credit for his Majesty's becoming the person selected by the former Emperor at the last moment. If Yang Qi hadn't run thousands of miles alone and killed two war horses to catch up with his majesty, if he hadn't guarded the gate with domestic slaves, your majesty... Not your majesty."

He spoke in a low voice and dared not be heard by others.

This kind of thing, nonsense is heard. Who knows if it will cause any trouble?

The old cripple said: "After your majesty ascended the throne, the first thing was to make the seventh prince a loyal prince, ranking first among all princes and ministers. His salary was three times that of other princes, his land was ten times that of other princes, and he could even have 3000 soldiers who were completely obedient to the loyal Prince. This grace was the only one in the hundred years since the founding of the Sui Dynasty. Even the 19 domestic slaves who fought hard and survived the city gate were all killed All have been granted the title of Xianzi! Descendants will never accept military service and pay taxes! "

He paused and continued: "But no one expected that on the third day after his majesty ascended the throne, Prince Zhong resigned from all his military posts, did not participate in politics in the DPRK, and did not return to his fiefdom. Instead, he opened a song and dance company called red tea move in Chang'an city. The emperor sent seven orders to let him enter the DPRK, but he resisted the orders and did not respect them. The queen even personally persuaded him to drink a toast, he drank a drink, and the queen drank sixteen , he even drank sixteen cups, half drunk and half awake, but refused to go to the temple again. "

Fang Xie sighed: "there is no better person in the world than this."

"But his influence is too great. In the period of the former Emperor, Prince Zhong led troops to fight for several times and won many battles. No one was invincible. Moreover... He is the real brother of the Grand Prince. After the Grand Prince lost his power, the latter family can only place their hopes on him. Therefore... It is inevitable that people will be suspicious, even if his decision has been made."

Fang Xie said: "so, on the surface, it seems that Prince Zhong left Chang'an ten years ago and disappeared without a trace, and the tea move was expelled by another Prince's highness. How can it have nothing to do with your majesty? If your majesty is in love, how can you ask nothing about the tea move?"

Hearing this, the old lame man couldn't help frowning and asked, "do you mean it's just what it looks like?"

"I've heard over the years that although your majesty is the most gentle tempered of the emperors of the Sui Dynasty, he is by no means a man without courage. If he wants to fight the loyal prince, he won't be so naive to let people disappear, and then he can't wait to drive the loyal Prince's industry out of the imperial capital. Don't you think it's too obvious?"

Fang Xie thought of the scene in the town outside the imperial capital when the Taoist priest in red robes pointed to the ground, and was more sure that his idea was right. How could an emperor who had no choice but to make such a low-level mistake at the beginning?

"If he wants to get rid of the loyal prince, he will get rid of the root... And he won't use such a poor method."

The old cripple was stunned, thought for a moment and said, "the loyal Prince's family has been doing well, and the fief has not moved. Your majesty will give a lot of rewards every year, although there are only a group of old slaves left in the loyal Prince's fief. I always thought it was the emperor's guilt..."

"Guilt?"

Fang Xie said with a smile, "how can anyone who can really do such a thing feel guilty?"

The old lame man said well, and his face was a little ugly.

Fang Xie thought for a moment and said: "It was another prince who forced the red tea move to leave the imperial capital. The Emperor didn't stop it, maybe the Emperor didn't have time to stop it at all. The prince was pressed by the loyal prince. Even if the loyal Prince didn't go to the court or participate in politics, he couldn't get ahead of him, so after the loyal Prince disappeared, he thought he was seizing the opportunity. It was too late for the emperor to take charge again, and for the sake of maintenance Protect the face of his other brother, and the emperor can't invite the red tea recruit expelled from the imperial capital back. "

After thinking carefully in his mind, he said: "maybe this is the truth. The dismissal of red tea move is just an idiot thing done by an idiot Lord in order to show his loyalty and win the position. He thought that if the loyal prince was gone, the emperor would take the opportunity to get rid of the loyal Prince's strength. Unexpectedly... The flattery was not good."

The old cripple's face changed, hesitated and said: "it seems... The prince who expelled the tea move from the imperial capital in those years has not used him. Although he is still ranked as a prince, he is really a powerless idle man."

"Everything can be seen clearly as long as you are willing to look at it with your heart."

Fang Xie summed it up.

When it comes to this, the wine is dry and the meat is finished. It's just right.

"Tomorrow morning, you come to tea to recruit the backyard. I'll pass you a knife."

The old cripple got up and was slightly drunk, so he walked a little shaky.

Fang Xie got up, was not drunk, and still walked smoothly.

But those who are slightly drunk are actually not drunk, while those who look not drunk are really drunk.

For that kind of knife, Fang Xie didn't just spend some time. He was never a person who could drink. Such a big wine gourd was empty.

The rest thrush took a look at the far away solution, and then looked at the old lame man with wine hiccup.

"Want to help him?"

She asked.

The old lame man smiled: "congenial, right temper... He is a waste who has no accomplishments. He can't be beaten into a pig's head when he enters the martial arts academy? At least he came out from fan Gu. He lost one game and was beaten into a cripple. I'll be ashamed of myself... I haven't used this type of knife for a long time. It's time to see the light."

"This gift is heavy."

The rest thrush said seriously.

The old cripple waved his hand carelessly, leaned against the door frame, and fell asleep soon. Mumbling underestimated a few words, the voice is very light. I don't know whether it's drunk or dreamy, but it's interesting after all.

"The ground is dry and the soil is cracked. No wonder the seedlings are crooked. Water more and sprinkle feces... And be saved."